Tuesday Apple Rumors: Google to Pay Apple $1B in 2014

by Christopher Freeburn | February 12, 2013 1:44 pm

Tuesday Apple Rumors: Google to Pay Apple $1B in 2014

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Favored Place: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG[3]) will pay Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[4]) $1 billion next year to keep its position as the default search engine in iOS[5], TechCrunch notes. Google has been the default search provider for years, but only paid Apple $82 million for the privilege in 2009. The sharp rise in annual payments likely reflects a per-device deal between the two companies, according to an analysis from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS[6]). Also driving up the price is bidding by rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[7]) to install Bing as iOS’s default search engine. Google is now paying more money to Apple than it gets back from advertising to iOS users, but gains valuable user data.

Not Impressed: Speaking at the Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS[8]) Technology and Internet conference, Tim Cook dismissed a recent lawsuit against Apple by Greenlight Capital[9], USA TODAY notes. Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund run by prominent investor David Einhorn, sued Apple in order to force the company to share more of its cash reserve with shareholders. Cook told conference attendees that the lawsuit was a “silly sideshow.” Einhorn is also asking Apple shareholders to vote against a proxy offered by the company that would restrict the issuance of preferred stock. Apple’s shareholder meeting is scheduled for February 27.

Guest Appearance: When President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, Apple’s CEO will be looking on from the balcony[10], the Daily News notes. Tim Cook will sit in the section reserved for guests of First Lady Michelle Obama. Joining Cook will be Bobak Ferdowsi, a NASA engineer whose colorful, spiky Mohawk haircut gained Internet fame after he was photographed during the landing of the Curiosity Rover on Mars, and the family of a Hadiya Pendleton, a teenager who was the victim of gun violence in Chicago.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[11] stories.